


ribs

by sunderhavelton



Category: Wolf 359 (Radio)
Genre: Fix-It, Gun Violence, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 08:47:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13163415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunderhavelton/pseuds/sunderhavelton
Summary: idk if anyone's written a 'kepler busts in and saves jacobi from getting the absolute shit kicked out of him by riemann' fic yet but here's one





	ribs

Jacobi collapses into the corner furthest away from Riemann, his chest heaving. He coughs, spits some blood out. Something pinkish floats by and he recognizes it as one of his teeth through the wave of nausea that hits him like a tsunami. He curls in on himself for a second, bracing his resolve before bracing his body against the wall with a blood-slicked hand and righting himself to face his opponent.

Riemann watches him with cold eyes, like he’s a dog that needs to be put down in the most inhumane way possible. Jacobi growls. He’s on the other side of the room, just standing there. Waiting for him to give up. Jacobi glances over at the door nearest to him and wonders if he has the strength to push off fast enough to give him the time to punch in the passcode and slam the door right into Riemann’s smug face. 

A cough hacks its way through his lung and he grimaces at the drops of blood that appear in front of him. He definitely has one or five broken ribs, no thanks to the jackass who seems bigger than he did a second ago oh God why is he bigger what the  _ fuck— _

Riemann seizes him by the hair and uses his forward momentum to slam his head against the wall. Jacobi cries out and wrenches himself away from Riemann’s grasp. He kicks out, hits  _ something _ solid and spirals out of his reach, head swimming through the fog of pain. He scrambles for purchase on the floor, trying to float his way over to the other door as quickly as possible. He hears Riemann grunt behind him— far behind him— and he reaches for the keypad before he even stops himself at the door. 

It’s a major risk but his shaky hands punch in 4-2-4-1-1 and the door slides open but he’s not fast enough; Riemann zero-g tackles him into the hallway and before he hits the nearest wall he hits something much softer than the hard metal he’s become accustomed to being thrown against. 

Someone grunts with the force of being tackled by two grown men— someone achingly, horribly, embarrassingly familiar— and Jacobi claws at his flight suit to drag Kepler in between him and Riemann. Riemann stops his momentum by latching onto a nearby handhold and glares at Kepler with unadulterated disgust. 

“What’re  _ you _ doing here?” He spits, dark flecks of blood flying from his lips. He continues without giving Kepler a chance to respond. “What, are you just gonna stand there and let him get  _ away? _ Fucking help me or get out of my  _ goddamn way.” _

Jacobi’s heart seizes in his chest (painfully) and he grasps for a handhold, ready for when Kepler whips around and grabs him by the collar, ready to finish the job Riemann started. He can only hope it’s fast because before he hopes for painless Kepler punches Riemann square in the jaw. 

“ _ No, _ ” Kepler growls, shoving Riemann back into the room.

Jacobi stays in the hallway, ready to run as soon as he needs to but glued in place by the  _ very _ pleasant shock of what Kepler just did. Kepler takes advantage of the same shock that just overcame Riemann by punching him a few more times and kneeing him in the stomach for good measure. Riemann lands a hit on him before Kepler manages to completely overpower him. Kepler takes the punch like a champ and uses the recoil to push Riemann back further with an elbow to the face.

Jacobi watches from the doorway now, slack jawed and wheezing heavily. Kepler elbows Riemann right in the temple, throwing him down. Rieman shakes it off, but before he can fully recover, Kepler kicks him in the stomach, the ribs, the face. Jacobi hears a sickening crunch signalling a broken nose and he barks a laugh. Kepler kicks Riemann one last time, right in the temple, and his body goes slack. Kepler stares at him, breathing heavily. Spots of blood fly off his hand as he shakes it out, turning to face Jacobi with a smirk.

Riemann blinks back into consciousness just as the door slides shut and locks behind Kepler.

Jacobi grins at the muffled shout. Kepler looks at him with tired, apologetic eyes and that charming, lopsided smile of his.

“Give me your weapon,” isn’t the first thing that crosses Jacobi mind to say or do, but it’s what he does anyways. He raises his eyebrows just barely when Kepler blinks but otherwise unflinchingly pulls his gun out of his holster and hands it to him. Jacobi hums, taking it from him. He backs up, and points it at Kepler’s head. Kepler blanches, his hands slowly coming up and framing his face.

“Daniel,” Kepler says, low and pleading. “Please, I…  _ Please _ .”

Jacobi snorts. He can’t come up with a reason to be spared. How undeserving. He lowers the gun, switches on the safety.

“Thanks.”

“You,” Kepler sighs in relief, “are horrendous.”

“Like you deserve any better. But how ingrateful would I have to be to kill my own personal Prince Charming,” Jacobi says, ignoring the banging at the other side of the door. He smiles. “Took you long enough to come to your senses there, Colonel.”

“I was always there,” Kepler replies, rolling his eyes. He gestures to the door separating them and Riemann. “Let me guess— Rigged to explode? We’re right on top of the engine.”

“Winner winner,” Jacobi nods, fishing in his pocket for the detonator while checking his watch. He blinks away the haze encroaching on the edge of his vision. “It’s set to go off in… oh, five minutes? I think we can speed that up.”

“That you can,” Kepler says. Then, slower, quieter, “Are you alright?”

“Fine,” Jacobi assures him, pushing off down the hallway. “Come on, I’ve gotta meet up with Minkowski and Lovelace so we can get the hell off this godforsaken station.”

“Understood.” 

Kepler follows him quietly for a moment until they’re a safe distance from the room, and Jacobi comes to a dead stop. Kepler bumps into him, sending a shooting pain through his right arm. He murmurs an apology and Jacobi stares back down the hallway for a second before he triggers the detonation. Kepler jumps at the sound, and stares down the hallway with him, watching for the fireball that never comes bursting through the sealed doors. He only looks back when Jacobi touches his face suddenly, leading him into a kiss.

Jacobi kisses him gingerly on account of his busted lip, but he runs his fingers over Kepler’s stubble and twists his fingers into his flight suit at the waist. Kepler hums low in his chest and his hands settle warm on Jacobi’s ribs, just enough to remind him that some of them are broken. He winces, but presses harder against Kepler’s mouth, months of bitterness swelling in his throat. He pulls away, and Kepler gently presses his forehead against Jacobi’s. 

“We’re wasting time,” Jacobi murmurs, and Kepler lets his hands drop, fully separating himself. “We can fix this when we get back.”

Kepler hums in agreement. They press on towards the Urania. 


End file.
